Allelopathy and Agricultural Sustainability: Implication in weed management and crop protection—an overview

Crop plants have defined roles in agricultural production and feeding the world. They are affected by several environmental and biological stresses, which range from soil salinity, drought, and climate change to exposure to diverse plant pathogens. These stresses pose risk to agricultural sustainability. To avoid the increasing biotic and abiotic pressure on crop plants, agrochemicals are extensively used in agriculture for attaining desirable yield and production of crops. However, the use of agrochemicals is also challenging the integrity of ecosystems. Thus, to maintain the integrity of ecosystem, sustainable measures for elevated crop production are required. Allelopathy, a process of chemical interactions between plants and other organisms, could be used in the management of several biotic and abiotic stresses if the basic mechanisms of the phenomena and plants with allelopathic potentials are known. Allelopathy has a promising future for its application in agriculture for natural weed management, improving soil health and suppressing plant diseases. The aim of this review is to discuss the importance of allelopathy in agriculture and its role in sustainability with a specific focus on weed management and crop protection

20-Gauge vs. 23-Gauge Vitrectomy, in Terms of Surgically Induced Astigmatism

OBJECTIVES To compare the post-operative (post-op) surgically induced mean astigmatism in patients undergoing 20-gauge- and 23-gauge vitrectomy. METHODOLOGY Sixty patients were enrolled. Relevant information was recorded in a Performa for each patient. Patients were randomly grouped into A (20-gauge) and B (23-gauge) groups. Astigmatism was recorded by a single technician using the same keratometer for all patients. A single surgeon operated on all patients. Post-operatively, all patients were re-examined after 1 week and 6 weeks, and their surgically induced astigmatism was recorded. RESULTSOf 60 patients, 58.6% were males, and 41.4% were females, with a mean age of 53.77 ± 9.63 years. The post-operative astigmatism difference between the two vitrectomy procedures was investigated. In the 20-gauge group, with 30 patients, the mean post-operative astigmatism difference was 2.21 D (±0.66 SD), with a standard error mean of 0.12. In the 23-gauge group, with 30 patients, the mean post-operative astigmatism difference was 0.74 D (±0.44 SD), with a standard error mean of 0.08. The degrees of freedom (df) were 58, and the standard error of the difference was 0.145. The t-value was calculated at 10.1504, and the p-value was found to be 0.001, indicating a significant difference. CONCLUSION The observation that the 20-gauge group displayed a notably higher mean difference in astigmatism than the 23-gauge group suggests a potential association between the choice of vitrectomy procedure and the extent of astigmatism alteration in post-operative outcomes

Analysis of the Substrate Effect on the Zero-Backward Scattering Condition of a Cu2O Nanoparticle under Non-Normal Illumination

The presence of a substrate is one of the most important limitations of the real application of the directional conditions. These conditions allow the control of the spatial distribution of light scattering of nanoparticles. While the zero-forward condition is quite sensitive to any change of the surrounding medium, like the substrate, the zero-backward scattering seems to be less sensitive and very stable under normal illumination. In this letter, the zero-backward scattering condition was investigated on a homogenous Cu2O spherical subwavelength particle, both theoretically and experimentally. In particular, the influence of the substrate and the impinging direction on the angular distribution of light scattering under this directional condition were studied. We observed that the zero-backward scattering condition was also sensitive to the presence of a substrate beneath when a non-normal illumination was considered. We believe that our finding is quite interesting from a practical point of view and for the real implementation of directional scattering in various applications like cloaking, light-emitting devices, photovoltaic devices, bio-sensing, and many more.M.H. thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China for financial support (Project Nos. 294 U1532112, 11375198, 11574280). B.G.-C. wants to thank the financial support from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and FEDER for the Project TEC2016-77242-C3-1-R AEI/FEDER, UE and Comunidad de Madrid (SINFOTON-CM) grant number P2013/MIT-2790

Huge Lipoma Involving Left Cheek Region: A Case Report

Lipomas are very common benign lumps that can be encountered in any part of the body but a small proportion present in the head and neck region. In this case report we have discussed the diagnosis and surgical treatment of an asymptomatic huge lipoma of left cheek. The patient had this swelling present for the last 5 years. Initially there was a slight increase in the size of the swelling but since the last 3 years there is no change in size. There was no history of associated pain and tenderness. The patient had esthetic concerns because of which the lesion was excised. These lipomas continue to grow slowly, showing variable signs including dysphagia, dyspnea, and dysphonia due to the compressing effect on surrounding structures. It can also be a matter of cosmetic concern. With this case report, authors will also highlight the diagnostic modalities and treatment for lipomas occurring in unusual areas in the body. It is a rare finding that occurs anterior to parotid but can be treated successfully by current surgical approach.Key Words:, ,&nbsp

The Eastern and Western amalgamation: a dilemma for Pakistani artists

This research explores the combination of Eastern and Western amalgamation in the artwork of Farhat Ali painter. This East and West cultural diffusion discourses inquiries about cultural identity and its conceivable effect. During academics, curriculum studying, and practising Western art and in the paintings, the painter has to produce the-eastern approach. It was unsuccessful as it made the East and West divisions unspecified because the artist had to do such work, which belonged to the culture. The basic structures within the institutions are copied from the West and mainly affect the local art sector and most of the communication being done, which is a clear effect of post-colonialism. It is apparent from Farhat Ali’s work and his practice entirely that he has shrewdly noticed this conflict. Farhat Ali’s choreographed gestures and their placement make for highly dramatized illustrations. It might incorporate calligraphy, miniature painting techniques, or traditional patterns into a modernist painting or use contemporary materials and colours to create classic images. Ultimately, the researcher will prove the East and West combination is a trauma for Pakistani painters. This study also accentuates sociolect-psychoanalytical cultural conflicts and how to affect the feeling and behaviour of characters

Measures to Mitigate Causative Factors of Budget Overrun in Malaysian Building Projects

Completion of a construction within planned budget is one of the main criterion of project success, however budget overrun has become a recurring phenomenon in construction industry. Budget overrun can cause multiple negative effects such as loos of economy, disputes among construction stakeholders, project abandonment, and drop in construction activities. This study aims to identify causes of budget overrun in Malaysian Building projects and then to establish mitigation measures for the identified main causes. Literature review, questionnaire survey and interviews were used in this study. Detailed literature review results in identification of 28 causes of budget overrun. The main causes of budget overrun in building projects in Malaysia were investigated through a questionnaire survey of 83 contractors, 57 clients, and 40 owners. The feedback of questionnaire survey was analyzed statistically. The significant causes of budget overrun were:  improper planning, variation in materials price, poor site management, lack of communication between parties, frequent design changes, incompetent contractors, mistakes during construction, shortage of site workers, delay in material procurement, and   low speed of decisions making.   After questionnaire survey, interviews with 16 construction exports were carried out in order to develop mitigation measures for the top ten significant causes. On the basis of interviews, a list of mitigation measures for each of the top ten significant causes were established. The findings of this study can be useful for construction practitioners in controlling budget overrun and to achieve project success

An indirect method of imaging the Stokes parameters of a submicron particle with sub-diffraction scattering

In this work, we report an indirect way to image the Stokes parameters of a sample under test (SUT) with sub-diffraction scattering information. We apply our previously reported technique called parametric indirect microscopic imaging (PIMI) based on a fitting and filtration process to measure the Stokes parameters of a submicron particle. A comparison with a classical Stokes measurement is also shown. By modulating the incident field in a precise way, fitting and filtration process at each pixel of the detector in PIMI make us enable to resolve and sense the scattering information of SUT and map them in terms of the Stokes parameters. We believe that our finding can be very useful in fields like singular optics, optical nanoantenna, biomedicine and much more. The spatial signature of the Stokes parameters given by our method has been confirmed with finite difference time domain (FDTD) method.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFF0107100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (61501239), NSFC-2017 (International Young Scientist Research Fund no. 61750110520) and the “Zijin Professor Project” of Nanjing University of Science and Technology. MH thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China for financial support (Project nos. U1532112, 11375198, 11574280). BGC thanks the funding through the R&D Program SINFOTON S2013/MIT-2790 of the Comunidad de Madrid and from Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) for the Project TEC2016-77242-C3-1-R AEI/FEDER, UE.Publicad

Imaging the scattering field of a single GaN nanowire

In this work, a single gallium nitride (GaN) nanowire has been examined by our previously reported technique parametric indirect microscopic imaging (PIMI). Mapping of the nanoscale scattering signals from GaN nanowire has been achieved with PIMI system. A comparison with classical far field microscopy and FDTD simulations is included to show the relevant differences and the strength of this technique. In PIMI, highly defined modulated illumination, far field variation quantification, and filtering process resolve the nanoscale scattering field distribution in the form of polarization parameters. We believe that our system provides us a platform to understand the physics of these nanoscale scattering fields from optical nanoantennas.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFF0107100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (61501239), NSFC-2017 (International Young Scientist Research Fund No. 61750110520) and the 'Zijin Professor Project' of Nanjing University of Science and Technology. B G C wants to thank the financial support from Agencia Estatal de Investigación and FEDER for the Project TEC2016-77242-C3-1-R AEI/FEDER, UE and Comunidad de Madrid for the SINFOTON-CM Research Program (S2013/MIT-2790).Publicad

Resolving multipolar scattering modes of submicron dielectric particle using parametric super resolution method

In this work, we show the spatial distribution of the scattered electromagnetic field of dielectric particles by using a new super-resolution method based on polarization modulation. Applying this technique, we were able to resolve the multipolar distribution of a Cu2O particle with a radius of 450 nm. In addition, FDTD and Mie simulations have been carried out to validate and confirm the experimental results. The results are helpful to understand the resonant modes of dielectric submicron particles which have a broad range of potential applications, such as all-optical devices or nanoantennas.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFF0107100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (61501239), NSFC-2017 (International Young Scientist Research Fund no. 61750110520) and the “Zijin Professor Project” of Nanjing University of Science and Technology. MH thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China for financial support (Project Nos. U1532112, 11375198, 11574280). BGC wants to thank the financial support from Agencia Estatal de Investigación and FEDER for the Project TEC2016-77242-C3-1-RAEI/FEDER, UE.Publicad